Raiders head coach Dennis Allen watches the closing minutes of the game from the sidelines. The Oakland Raiders played the New Orleans Saints at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, November 18, 2012. The Saints defeated the Raiders 38-17.

Homecoming: Raiders quarterback Carson Palmerreturns to Cincinnati to play for the first time since he semi-retired and forced a trade last season. He spent his first eight seasons with the Bengals.

"It's a big game," Palmer said. "But it's obviously a much bigger game for our team."

Is Palmer curious to see the fans' greeting?

"I have a pretty good feeling how that's going to go," he said, smiling.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was asked about Palmer's return and almost acted like he didn't recognize the name.

"Just like any other player who was here," Lewis said. "He no longer plays here, so I think we no longer need to spend any time speaking about it."

Another reunion: The Raiders will face last year's head coach, Hue Jackson, who signed with the Bengals as an assistant secondary and assistant special teams coach after the Raiders fired him.

"I'm sure we'll give him a hug after the game," Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymoursaid. "But he's a guy that we have a ton of respect for. He was a heck of a play-caller for sure. And he loved his players."

Briefly: Allen hopes to see Seymour (hamstring), running backs Darren McFaddenand Mike Goodson(high ankle sprains) and safety Tyvon Branch (neck) back at practice this week. ... Palmer on Sunday became the first Raiders quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season since Kerry Collins in 2005. Palmer has 3,035. ... He has thrown for 300 or more yards in three straight games for the first time in his career, and his 16 straight 200-yard games is a Raiders franchise record.